Further Information

This survey sketch of Dubai ‘Dibai’ is part of a larger
set of drawings completed by Commander H. F. Walter on behest of the British
Royal Navy, 1910.

The plan shows the ‘sandy shore’ coastline (signified as a broken
line) leading from the southwest of the Dibai Creek to the north east, with a
sandbank that ‘dries to 2 to 3 feet’. Large areas of trees are marked, as are
wells to the south west and two smaller settlements of ‘mat huts’ on the north
easterly coast. The settlement of Dibai is the focus of this plan, with a large
concentration of mat huts on the approach from the south and on the northerly
side of the Creek. Landmarks of particular interest to the Royal Navy have been
marked: a House, Fort (Lat. 25”15’45”N, Long. 55”18’30”E) and Tower (‘conspic’
- conspicuous) on the southerly stretch of the Creek; the Ferry which provided
transport across to Dairah; the Sheikh’s House, NE Tower and Boat, all within
or in close proximity to the Dairah settlement itself; and a third Tower
(‘conspic’) further inland and to the north east of Dairah.

The Memoirs in the top right corner provides further information in
regard to how the plan was constructed ‘on the AB side of 6520 feet, derived
from the Ship’s Masthead…’; point B being the top of the mast (crow’s nest) of
the survey ship, and point A being the NE Dairah Tower, as seen from 6520 feet
(approximately 1.98 kilometres away).

‘Points have been shot in by Sexton Angles from various Anchor
Stations… and shore stations…’ All stations are marked in red, with the
anchorage symbol being a three point compass (the southerly point being an
arrow) and the shore symbol being a circle inside a triangle. A note is also
made of the soundings which are ‘reduced to LWOS’ which could perhaps be ‘Level/Low
Water Over/On Sand’. Worth noting are the very low water levels on the approach
to Dubai, dropping from 8 foot (2.4 metres to a ¼ foot (3 inches being
approximately 7.6 centimetres).